THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “If an ambulance had arrived in time, my father would still have been with us,” laments Arjun (name changed), a day after he lost his 59-year-old father to the dreaded Covid. It was on Thursday morning that the condition of Arjun’s father, who had been under home isolation for five days, suddenly started to deteriorate. As he had developed fever, the family contacted the health authorities, who in turn asked them to give him more fluids. “But his condition worsened by afternoon. We contacted the officials again and sought transportation and admission at a hospital.
We didn’t get any help,” said Arjun, who hails from Aryanad. As his father’s condition worsened by 5pm, he was sure he couldn’t wait for an ambulance. “We took him to the nearest hospital in our car. But it was too late by then,” said the grief-stricken son. Arjun’s story is just one example of the plight of several citizens trapped between a raging pandemic and a healthcare system on the brink of collapse. As hospitals in every district start to run out of beds to accommodate new patients, health authorities are now facing the mammoth task of managing scores of people under home isolation.
As on Friday, nearly 3.75 lakh Covid patients are under home isolation in the state. “The 59-year-old patient’s death in Aryanad indicates the failure of the system and exposes bigger problems. The unavailability of beds and transport facilities alone points to the severity of the situation we are dealing with. Unfortunately, the authorities are not ready to admit this,” said a senior health official. It is high time the state ramped up facilities and resources to deal with this surge, the official said.
“The daily trend shows that cases are only going to increase in the coming days. It is foolish to issue orders directing private hospitals to earmark 20% of their beds for Covid care. Instead of letting patients die on the road, the state should take over hospitals and hire resources to deal with such emergencies,” the official said. In Thiruvananthapuram, district authorities have proposed the takeover of three private facilities, including a few blocks of some premium private healthcare institutions, to handle the surge.
Situation slipping out of control, but authorities not ready to allot funds
“The situation is slowly slipping out of control. Still, the higher authorities are not ready to allot enough funds. This is not the time to hold back on resources. The government should act proactively and utilise funds to save lives. More human resources, ventilators and ICU beds are key to tide over the crisis,” he said.
However, tertiary care for non-Covid patients cannot be cut down, the official pointed out.
“There is still no decrease in the number of accident cases. Cutting down funds for non-Covid care would turn fatal for patients, he added.According to health experts, decentralised facilities for Covid patient management can help avoid such casualties. “It will be impossible to manage the state’s current Covid scenario without a solid decentralised local plan.
Domiciliary care centres with at least nursing staff can offer immediate medical care to patients. Enough transportation facilities should be made available locally for patients. The control room should also be able to give proper assistance,” said an official, adding that the authorities should also revise the discharge policy for patients admitted at CFLTCs and CSLTCs. “The discharge policy should be changed so that beds at CFLTCs and CSLTCs can be made available for patients requiring emergency care,” said the official.
3.75 lakh Covid patients are under home isolation in the state as on Friday